Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 7/2/23 — 7/8/23

Posted on July 8, 2023 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This week was all about getting caught up on the shows that might be nominated for this year’s Emmys. I ended up watching a lot of TV. Here’s a few thoughts on it all!

60 Days In (A&E)

I watched this show’s seventh season this week. Sending former criminals undercover was an interesting idea and Carlos, who struggled with the temptation to return to his old ways, was definitely the most compelling character this season. It really was one of the worst jails that they’ve ever featured on this show. It’s easy to be dismissive of a show like this and it definitely is a bit exploitive. But it also does portray why jails fail to rehabilitate its inmates.

Big Beasts (Apple TV+)

I watched an episode on Friday about the great whales! I enjoyed it. Whales are fascinating creatures and it certainly didn’t hurt that the whole thing was narrated by Tom Hiddleston.

City Guys (YouTube)

I wrote about City Guys here!

The Crown (Netflix)

I’ve always had mixed feelings about The Crown. On the one hand, I absolutely love it as a well-made, well-acted, and well-produced royal soap opera. On the other hand, I have never been comfortable about the idea of turning anyone’s life into a miniseries while they’re still alive. Of course, Queen Elizabeth passed away last year but the show itself still feels a bit invasive. That said, the fifth season was as addictive as ever. Imelda Stauton took over at Elizabeth. Dominic West made Charles into a far more interesting person than he probably is in real life. Of all the seasons so far, this season was the most melancholy as it portrayed a world that was suddenly changing faster than ever before. Not only did Charles and Diana divorce but the UK lost Hong Kong. The decommissioning Britannia felt like the true end of an era. It was hard to watch this season without thinking about how the people portrayed had no idea how much worse things were going to get in just a few more years.

Daisy Jones & The Six (Prime)

I binged this miniseries on Tuesday and Wednesday. Full of music and 70s atmosphere, this series charted the rise and the fall of a fictional rock group. Riley Keough, who really seems like she should be a bigger star, was wonderful in the lead role.

Dead To Me (Netflix)

Unfortunately, I really haven’t had time to binge the final season of Dead To Me but I did jump ahead and watch the final episode on Saturday afternoon. Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini were still a great and messy team and I definitely got a bit watery-eyed at the episode’s conclusion.

The Diplomat (Netflix)

I watched the first episode of this show on Wednesday. It didn’t really hold my attention but Keri Russell was convincing as the title character and it was kind of amusing to see Michael McKean playing an apparently sincere and idealistic president.

Fleishman Is In Trouble (Hulu)

This was an excellent miniseries that I binged on Monday and Tuesday. Jesse Eisenberg and Claire Danes were excellent as a divorced couple who struggled with life in New York City. This miniseries felt like some great 70s movie that just happened to be set in 2016.

Forgive or Forget (YouTube)

I watched an episode on Thursday. Former best friends were demanding apologies. Very few apologies were given, which I think may have been due to the fact that host Robin Givens kept interrupting everyone so that she could yell at them. If Mother Love had been there, everyone would have come through the door.

House of the Dragon (HBO)

HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel turned out to be quite a bit better than I was expecting. That said, I would be lying if I said that I was always able to follow what was happening on the show without the help of Wikipedia. I had the same problem with Game of Thrones, to be honest. However, the chaos and the feeling that you could never be sure who was actually plotting what was one of the things that made both the early seasons of Game of Thrones and the first season of this show so intriguing.

The Last Of Us (HBO)

I binged this throughout the week and I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed in myself that I didn’t watch it earlier. Because I had so much to watch this week, I feel as if I rushed through the show, going from one episode to another so quickly that I didn’t get a chance to really contemplate and savor everything that happened. That said, The Last Of Us was well-acted and created a convincing dystopian society. For once, the “zombie” apocalypse felt realistic as opposed to contrived.

The Last Thing He Told Me (Apple TV+)

Enjoyably twisty and melodramatic, this adaptation of Laura Dave’s novel featured great performances from Jennifer Garner, Angourie Rice, and David Morse. Even though I had read the novel and knew what was going to happen, the show still held my interest

Love & Death (Max)

Elizabeth Olsen and Jesse Plemons were great but this limited series’s story was better told by Hulu’s Candy. As a producer and a writer, David E. Kelly has always had a tendency to rely on easy caricatures and too much of Love & Death felt like a Yankee fantasy of what life in small town Texas is like.

The Love Boat (Paramount Plus)

I wrote about The Love Boat here!

The Master (Tubi)

I wrote about The Master here!

MH370: The Plane That Disappeared (Netflix)

During the early hours of Wednesday morning, I watched this 3-part docuseries on the Malaysian airline that mysteriously disappeared a few years ago. (Remember Don Lemmon suggesting it had flown into a black hole?) It was interesting viewing, though ultimately I think it works better as a look at how quick people are to buy into conspiracy theories than anything else.

Midnight Special (YouTube)

From 1973, the first episode of Midnight Special was hosted by Helen Reddy and featured performances from Ike and Tina Turner, George Carlin, Curtis Mayfield, Don McLean, Rare Earth, Kenny Rankin, The Byrds, and The Impressions. Helen Reddy was a bit of a boring host but the music was great.

The Old Man (Hulu)

With the Emmy nominations due to be announced next Tuesday, I finally got around to binging The Old Man this week. On the one hand, it was yet another morally ambiguous thriller featuring the government pursuing a former agent who had gone underground. On the other hand, Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, and Amy Brenneman all brought a lot of conviction to their roles and the film was as much about dealing with one’s own morality as it was about dealing with the dark side of the intelligence community. I liked it far more than I was expecting too.

The Patient (Hulu)

I watched the first three episodes of this miniseries on Monday morning and that was enough for me. Steve Carell plays a psychiatrist who is being held captive by a serial killer (Domhnall Gleeson) who is looking for help curbing his homicidal impulses. Carell gave a great performance, proving again that he’s just as capable of doing drama as he is comedy. But, other than Carell’s performance, I found the show to be tedious and I haven’t felt any real desire to finish binging it.

Real Time With Bill Maher (Max)

I watched the episode where Russell Brand yelled at John Heilenmann. I was on Brand’s side but a lot of that has to do with Heilenmann just be annoying in general. Bernie Sanders was also on the show and seemed kind of tired of the whole thing.

Rollergames (YouTube)

On the 2nd episode of Rollergames (which I watched with Jeff and our friend Pat on Friday night), the Thunderbirds competed against Bad Attitude. Thunderbirds were heroic but Bad Attitude had style. I’m not sure who actually won.

Slasher: Ripper (Shudder)

I’m always tempted to call this program Canadian Horror Story but Slasher is actually far better than Ryan Murphy’s show. The fifth season, which I binged throughout the week, has an intriguing mystery, many macabre deaths, a lot of atmosphere, and a wonderfully villainous performance from Eric McCormack.

Trainwreck: Woodstock ’99 (Netflix)

I finally watched this docuseries on Saturday morning, after finishing up Midnight Special. I guess I was in a musical mode. The mix of hubris, greed, and celebrity that went into making Woodstock ’99 a disaster will never not be fascinating.

Welcome Back, Kotter (Tubi)

I wrote about Welcome Back Kotter here!

Here Are The SAG Nominations!

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are the SAG nominations! I’ll be post my thoughts under the noms because — let’s be honest, the noms are what you’re here for:

BEST ENSEMBLE
Da 5 Bloods
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Minari
One Night In Miami
The Trial Of The Chicago 7

BEST LEAD ACTOR (FEMALE)
Amy Adams – Hillbilly Elegy
Viola Davis – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Vanessa Kirby – Pieces Of A Woman
Frances McDormand – Nomadland
Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman

BEST LEAD ACTOR (MALE)
Riz Ahmed – Sound Of Metal
Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins – The Father
Gary Oldman – Mank
Steven Yeun – Minari

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (FEMALE)
Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close – Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman – The Father
Youn Yuh-Jung – Minari
Helena Zengel – News Of The World

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (MALE)
Sacha Baron Cohen – The Trial Of The Chicago 7
Chadwick Boseman – Da 5 Bloods
Daniel Kaluuya – Judas And The Black Messiah
Jared Leto – The Little Things
Leslie Odom Jr. – One Night In Miami

BEST STUNT ENSEMBLE
Da 5 Bloods
Mulan
News of the World
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Wonder Woman 1984

BEST ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul
Bridgerton
The Crown
Lovecraft Country
Ozark

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Gillian Anderson – The Crown
Olivia Colman – The Crown
Emma Corrin – The Crown
Julia Garner – Ozark
Laura Linney – Ozark

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jason Bateman – Ozark
Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us
Josh O’Connor – The Crown
Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul
Regé-Jean Page – Bridgerton

BEST ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES
Dead To Me
The Flight Attendant
The Great
Schitt’s Creek
Ted Lasso

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Nicholas Hoult – The Great
Daniel Levy – Schitt’s Creek
Eugene Levy – Schitt’s Creek
Jason Sudekis – Ted Lasso
Ramy Youseff – Ramy

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate – Dead To Me
Linda Cardellini – Dead To Me
Kaley Cuoco – The Flight Attendant
Annie Murphy – Schitt’s Creek
Catherine O’Hara – Schitt’s Creek

BEST ACTOR IN A TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES
Bill Camp – The Queen’s Gambit
Daveed Diggs – Hamilton
Hugh Grant – The Undoing
Ethan Hawke – The Good Lord Bird
Mark Ruffalo – I Know This Much Is True

BEST ACTRESS IN A TV MOVIE/LIMITED SERIES
Cate Blanchett – Mrs. America
Cole – I May Destroy You
Nicole Kidman – The Undoing
Anya Taylor-Joy – The Queen’s Gambit
Kerry Washington – Little Fires Everywhere

Okay, my thoughts:

I guess the big news is that the SAG appreciated Hillbilly Elegy a bit more than the critics. Glenn Close picking up a supporting actress nom isn’t a huge shock but I do think a few people were a bit surprised to see Amy Adams nominated. Personally, I think Amy Adams was okay in Hillbilly Elegy but I’ll be kind of disappointed if — after all the great performance she’s given — this is the one that she picks up an Oscar for.

We all kind of laughed off Jared Leto picking up that supporting nomination from the Golden Globes but the SAG nominated him as well! Is this a sign of momentum or just a crazy coincidence? Either way, this doesn’t bode well for the Oscar hopes of Sound of Metal‘s Paul Raci. Raci’s picked up a lot of critical support but getting snubbed by both the Globes and SAG doesn’t seem like a good sign.

Speaking of signs, I’m going to assume that Sidney Flanigan’s Oscar hopes are pretty much gone. Like Raci, she seems like she would have needed either a GG or a SAG nomination to really break through.

Amanda Seyfried was not nominated. That took me by surprise but it didn’t upset me as much as Raci getting snubbed, largely because I like Sound of Metal considerably more than Mank.

I think Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods is the overrated film of 2020 but you still have to wonder how the film could pick up a Best Ensemble nomination without also getting best actor nomination for Delroy Lindo. Lindo was also snubbed by the Globes so again, the prospect of him getting nominated for an Oscar no longer seems like a sure thing.

Good news for Steven Yeun! Some people were writing him off after he didn’t get a Golden Globe nomination but the SAG nomination puts him right back into the hunt.

Finally, the SAG is one of the best precursors regarding what films and performances will actually receive Oscar nominations. So, whether or not I or anyone else agrees with all of the nominations, the nominees have to be feeling very happy right now. Best of luck to them all!

Here Are The Major 72nd Emmy Nominations!

Posted on July 28, 2020 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Usually, when it’s time for the Emmy nominations to be announced, I’ll post what I personally would have nominated. I didn’t do it this year because, for whatever reason, I didn’t watch as much TV last season as I have in the past so I felt like, if I had done a Lisa Has All The Power post for the Emmy nominations, I would have ended up just nominating a bunch of shows that I hadn’t actually watched and that would just be wrong.

I will say that I was hoping to see nominations for Bad Education and Unbelievable. Both did receive nominations, though not as much as they should have. Bad Education was nominated for Best TV Movie and Hugh Jackman received a nomination but it deserved so much more. (It’s the best film that I’ve seen so far this year and it bugs the Hell out of me that it was sold to HBO and not Netflix because Bad Education is the type of movie that should get Oscar recognition.) Unbelievable was nominated for Best Limited Series but Kaitlyn Dever and Merritt Weaver deserved nominations as well. I was also disappointed that neither Aaron Paul nor Robert Forster were nominated for El Camino. I’m also upset that my favorite comedy series — Medical Police — was totally snubbed but I’m not really surprised. Medical Police is hilarious but it’s not self-important enough for the Emmys. Still, considering that Curb Your Enthusiasm was kind of terrible this year, it’s a shame that Medical Police couldn’t sneak in there.

(This year still isn’t as bad as the year that Twin Peaks: The Return was snubbed in all the major categories.)

Anyway, here are the major nominees. At least The Mandalorian got some recognition. GO BABY YODA!

Drama Series

“Better Call Saul” (AMC)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
“Killing Eve” (BBC America/AMC)
“The Mandalorian” (Disney Plus)
“Ozark” (Netflix)
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)
“Succession” (HBO)

Comedy Series

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
“Dead to Me” (Netflix)
“The Good Place” (NBC)
“Insecure” (HBO)
“The Kominsky Method” (Netflix)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon Prime Video)
“Schitt’s Creek” (Pop TV)
“What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)

Limited Series

“Little Fires Everywhere” (Hulu)
“Mrs. America” (Hulu)
“Unbelievable” (Netflix)
“Unorthodox” (Netflix)
“Watchmen” (HBO)

Televison Movie

“American Son” (Netflix)

“Bad Education” (HBO)

“Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings: These Old Bones” (Netflix)

“El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” (Netflix)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend (Netflix)

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Jason Bateman (“Ozark”)
Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”)
Steve Carell (“The Morning Show”)
Brian Cox (“Succession”)
Billy Porter (“Pose”)
Jeremy Strong (“Succession”)

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Jennifer Aniston (“The Morning Show”)
Olivia Colman (“The Crown”)
Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”)
Laura Linney (“Ozark”)
Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve”)
Zendaya (“Euphoria”)

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”)
Don Cheadle (“Black Monday”)
Ted Danson (“The Good Place”)
Michael Douglas (“The Kominsky Method”)
Eugene Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”)
Ramy Youssef (“Ramy”)

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Christina Applegate (“Dead to Me”)
Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Linda Cardellini (“Dead to Me”)
Catherine O’Hara (“Schitt’s Creek”)
Issa Rae (“Insecure”)
Tracee Ellis Ross (“Black-ish”)

Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Jeremy Irons (“Watchmen”)
Hugh Jackman (“Bad Education”)
Paul Mescal (“Normal People”)
Jeremy Pope (“Hollywood”)
Mark Ruffalo (“I Know This Much Is True”)

Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Cate Blanchett (“Mrs. America”)
Shira Haas (“Unorthodox”)
Regina King (“Watchmen”)
Octavia Spencer (“Self Made”)
Kerry Washington (“Little Fires Everywhere”)

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Giancarlo Esposito (“Better Call Saul”)
Bradley Whitford (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Billy Crudup (“The Morning Show”)
Mark Duplass (“The Morning Show”)
Nicholas Braun (“Succession”)
Kieran Culkin (“Succession”)
Matthew Macfadyen (“Succession”)
Jeffrey Wright (“Westworld”)

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Laura Dern (“Big Little Lies”)
Meryl Streep (“Big Little Lies”)
Helena Bonham Carter (“The Crown”)
Samira Wiley (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Fiona Shaw (“Killing Eve”)
Julia Garner (“Ozark”)
Sarah Snook (“Succession”)
Thandie Newton (“Westworld”)

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Andre Braugher (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”)
William Jackson Harper (“The Good Place”)
Alan Arkin (“The Kominsky Method”)
Sterling K. Brown (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Tony Shalhoub (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Mahershala Ali (“Ramy”)
Kenan Thompson (“Saturday Night Live”)
Dan Levy (“Schitt’s Creek”)

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Betty Gilpin (“GLOW”)
D’Arcy Carden (“The Good Place”)
Yvonne Orji (“Insecure”)
Alex Borstein (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Marin Hinkle (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”)
Kate McKinnon (“Saturday Night Live”)
Cecily Strong (“Saturday Night Live”)
Annie Murphy (“Schitt’s Creek”)

Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Dylan McDermott (“Hollywood”)
Jim Parsons (“Hollywood”)
Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend”)
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (“Watchmen”)
Jovan Adepo (“Watchmen”)
Louis Gossett Jr. (“Watchmen”)

Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Holland Taylor (“Hollywood”)
Uzo Aduba (“Mrs. America”)
Margo Martindale (“Mrs. America”)
Tracey Ullman (“Mrs. America”)
Toni Collette (“Unbelievable”)
Jean Smart (“Watchmen”)

Reality Competition

“The Masked Singer” (FOX)
“Nailed It” (Netflix)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)
“Top Chef” (Bravo)
“The Voice” (NBC)

Variety Sketch Series

“A Black Lady Sketch Show” (HBO)
“Drunk History” (Comedy Central)
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

Variety Talk Series

“Daily Show with Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” (TBS)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC)
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)
“Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)